Spool holder

ABSTRACT

The present invention is a spool holder that is an insert for inserting in the hole in a spool to frictionally engage the inner surface of the spool, and having an attachment mechanism that allows the insert to be attached to a surface, such as the vertical metallic side of a car. The attachment mechanism may include a number of magnets disposed in receptacles in the insert, or a number of small suction cups on the lateral sides of the insert.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application claims benefit from International Application No.PCT/CA2012/001010, filed Oct. 31, 2012, the disclosure of which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to devices for holding a spool,and more particularly to devices for removably attaching to a surface aspool holding a roll of material.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Various materials are formed into rolls, such as tape, thermal paper,wire, fishing line, and film. Such material is flexible and generallyrelatively thin. Commonly, the roll is formed by winding the materialonto a spool. A basic spool (e.g. item 101 of FIG. 1), which may bereferred to as a “core”, has right circular cylindrical inner and outersurfaces, having open ends and usually being relatively thin in theradial direction. Such a core may be formed from paper, plastic, metalor cardboard, for example. In some cases, the walls may be thicker toprovide more resistance to deformation. The cylindrical opening in themiddle of the spool is useful for holding the roll or for placing it ona spindle so that the roll may rotate about the central axis of thespool as material is removed from the roll.

Other forms of a spool, referred to as reels (e.g. item 600 of FIG. 6),have lateral sides extending radially outward from the ends of anopen-ended cylindrical core. For holding flat material, the two lateralsides are spaced apart by a width slightly more than the width of thematerial, such as in a film reel. This is useful for materials that arenot adhesive so that they may not form a stable roll by just wrappingthe material around itself.

In many cases, rolls of material are used manually by people. Forexample, a painter may hold a roll of masking tape in his hand and pulla portion of the tape off the roll. To apply the tape to a wall or sideof a car being painted, it is generally necessary for the painter totear a portion of tape off the roll, put the roll down somewhere, suchas in a pocket, and then use two hands to apply the tape to the surface.This limits the length of a continuous piece of tape that can be appliedby one person. In order to apply a very long continuous piece of tape,the painter may require the help of a second person who holds the rollof tape while the painter uses two hands to apply each portion while oneend is still attached to the roll so that a further portion, connectedto the previous portion, may then be removed from the roll and similarlyapplied to the surface as one continuous piece. Such a continuous piecemakes removal faster and cleaner. The user does not have to pick atnumerous edges to restart the de-masking process.

In general, for example when working in a garage or a shop, there may beno suitable horizontal surfaces to place the tape down on while the useris applying a strip. Such locations may also be dirty so that the edgesof the tape may become dirty when laid down.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The following presents a simplified summary of the disclosure in orderto provide a basic understanding to the reader. This summary is not anextensive overview of the disclosure and it does not necessarilyidentify key/critical elements of the invention or delineate the scopeof the invention. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts disclosedherein in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detaileddescription that is presented later.

The present invention provides a spool holder for holding a spool, thespool having a width and an inner cylindrical surface defining acylindrical hole having a diameter, the spool holder comprising:

-   -   (a) an insert having an outer surface configured to releasably        engage the inner surface of the spool to create an interference        fit between the outer surface of the insert and the inner        surface of the spool when the insert is inserted into the hole;        and    -   (b) an attachment mechanism for releasably attaching the insert        to a supporting surface.

The outer surface of the insert may have a plurality of spool contactpoints separated from each other by troughs in the outer surface. Theinsert has a central axis and each contact point may comprise a portionof the outer surface of the insert, a plurality of the contact pointsmay be at a distance greater than one half of the inner diameter of thespool from the central axis, and the contact points may be angularlyspaced apart to engage the inner surface of the spool to produce aninterference fit.

The insert may have left and right lateral sides perpendicular to thecentral axis, and a width being the distance between the lateral sides,wherein the outer surface is bordered by the lateral sides.

All portions of the insert may be located at a distance from the centralaxis of less than or equal to one half of the maximum distance of anycontact point from any other contact point.

The insert may comprise a sleeve having a hole centered on the centralaxis of the sleeve. The hole may be a cylindrical hole having a diameterequal to at least 50% of the inner diameter of the spool.

Each spool contact point may be the same distance from the central axis,the distance being less than 0.53 times the inner diameter of the spooland the distance being greater than one half of the inner diameter ofthe spool.

The insert may comprise eight contact points, each contact point beingangularly spaced apart from the other seven contact points by at leastforty degrees. The portions of the outer surface between the eightcontact points may be closer to the central axis than the contactpoints.

The insert may comprise sixteen contact points, each contact point beingangularly spaced apart from the other fifteen contact points by at leasttwenty degrees.

The attachment mechanism may comprise magnetized material and thesupporting surface may comprise ferromagnetic material.

The insert may comprise magnetized material so that the attachmentmechanism comprises the magnetized material.

The insert may comprise a receptacle configured to receive a magnet, theattachment mechanism may comprise a magnet disposed in the receptacle,and the width of the insert may be greater than the width of the spool.

The insert may comprise a plurality of receptacles configured to receivemagnets, and the attachment mechanism may comprise a plurality ofmagnets disposed in the receptacles. The magnets may be cylindrical andbe oriented with their central axes parallel to the central axis of theinsert and the magnets may extend from near one lateral side of theinsert to near the other lateral side so that each magnet canmagnetically engage with a supporting surface comprising ferromagneticmaterial when either lateral side of the insert is placed in closeproximity to the supporting surface. The spool holder may be engageablewith a spool holding a roll of material and attachable to a verticalsurface comprising ferromagnetic material, and the magnetic strength ofthe magnetized material may be sufficient to maintain the attachment tothe surface.

The insert may be formed from plastic.

The attachment mechanism may comprise a suction cup. The attachmentmechanism may comprise a plurality of suction cups angularly distributedon one lateral surface of the insert, and the width of the insert may begreater than or equal to the width of the spool. The attachmentmechanism may comprise a plurality of suction cups angularly distributedon both lateral surfaces of the insert

The insert may comprise an outer sleeve having a cylindrical holecentered on the central axis of the sleeve, and the attachment mechanismmay comprise an inner hub rotatably attached to the sleeve. The hub maycomprise a receptacle configured to receive a magnet, and a magnetdisposed in the receptacle, wherein the insert has a width greater thanthe width of the spool. The hub may comprise a plurality of suction cupsangularly distributed on one lateral surface of the hub, and the insertmay have a width greater than or equal to the width of the spool.

The present invention also provides a method of using a spool holder forholding a spool, the spool having a width and an inner cylindricalsurface defining a cylindrical hole having a diameter, the spool holdercomprising:

-   -   (a) an insert having an outer surface configured for releasable        engagement with the inner cylindrical surface of the spool,        -   the insert having a central axis, two lateral sides and a            plurality of spool contact points,        -   each contact point comprising a point on the outer surface            of the insert, a plurality of the contact points being at a            distance greater than one half of the inner diameter of the            spool from the central axis, the contact points being            distributed to engage the inner surface of the spool to            produce an interference fit between the outer surface of the            insert and the inner cylindrical surface of the spool when            the insert is inserted into the hole; and    -   (b) an attachment mechanism for releasably attaching one of the        lateral sides of the insert to a supporting surface,    -   the method comprising the steps of:    -   (a) inserting the insert into the cylindrical hole in the spool        to bring the contact points into frictional engagement with the        inner cylindrical surface of the spool; and    -   (b) attaching one of the lateral sides of the insert to a        supporting surface using the attachment mechanism.

The spool holder employed in the method may include additional featuresas described above. In the case of a spool holder comprising an outersleeve rotatable about an inner hub, the method may further include thestep of (c) removing material wound on the spool by pulling thematerial, causing the insert to rotate about the hub while it isattached to the supporting surface.

The present invention also provides a kit comprising:

-   -   (a) a spool holder comprising:        -   i. an insert having an outer surface configured for            releasable engagement with a spool, the spool having an            inner cylindrical surface defining a cylindrical hole having            a diameter,            -   the insert having a central axis, two lateral sides and                a plurality of spool contact points,            -   each contact point comprising a point on the outer                surface of the insert, a plurality of the contact points                being at a distance greater than one half of the inner                diameter of the spool from the central axis, the contact                points being distributed to engage the inner surface of                the spool to produce an interference fit between the                insert and the inner cylindrical surface of the spool                when the insert is inserted into the hole; and        -   ii. an attachment mechanism for releasably attaching one of            the lateral sides of the insert to a supporting surface; and    -   (b) a medium containing instructions for using the spool holder        to attach a spool to a supporting surface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a roll of tape on a spool.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a spool holderhaving a scalloped outer surface and embedded magnets as an attachmentmechanism.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a spool holderhaving a scalloped outer surface with no embedded magnets.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the first embodiment of a spool holderengaged with a spool holding a roll of tape.

FIG. 5 is a top view of the first embodiment of a spool holder engagedwith a spool holding a roll of tape.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the second embodiment of a spool holder,with magnets embedded in the holder, engaged with a reel holding a rollof material.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a third embodiment of a spool holderhaving small suction cups as the attachment mechanism.

FIG. 8 is an expanded view of the circled portion of FIG. 7 showing oneof the suction cups.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a fourth embodiment of a spool holderhaving an outer sleeve rotatably attached to an inner hub havingembedded magnets as an attachment mechanism.

FIG. 10 is an exploded view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a top view of the first embodiment of a spool holder engagedwith a spool holding a roll of tape with the spool holder attached to asupporting surface.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention is a spool holder for releasably attaching to a supportingsurface a spool having a cylindrical inner surface defining acylindrical hole or opening through the spool. An example of a typicalroll of tape is shown in FIG. 1, the tape 100 being wound around acylindrical spool 101, which may be referred to as a “core”, having acylindrical inner surface 102. The inner diameter of the spool is thetwice the distance from the central axis of the spool to the innersurface 102, the central axis being the axis of the cylinder defined bythe inner surface 102.

A first embodiment of a spool holder is shown in FIG. 2. The holderconsists of an insert 200 having a central axis 204 with eight magnets201 embedded in the insert 200 with the magnets recessed from thelateral surfaces of the insert 200 so that they do not directly contacta ferromagnetic supporting surface when the holder engages (i.e. isattached to) such a supporting surface. However, the magnets are closeenough to the supporting surface to magnetically engage it. The magnets201 extend from near one lateral side of the insert through the insertto near the other lateral side so that each magnet 201 can magneticallyengage with a flat supporting surface comprising ferromagnetic materialwhen either lateral side of the insert is placed in close proximity withthe supporting surface. The inner surface 203 of the holder may becylindrical and define a cylindrical hole 402 (or opening) through theholder.

A second embodiment is shown in FIG. 3 without magnets inserted. Theinsert 300 has eight receptacles 301 configured to receive eightcylindrical magnets. Each receptacle is cylindrical with its axisparallel to the central axis of the insert. As with the firstembodiment, the inner surface 303 of the holder is cylindrical anddefines a cylindrical hole 402 through the holder.

While the holder is generally annular in shape, the annulus having acentral axis 204, the outer surface of the insert is preferablyscalloped, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, so that it has a finite number ofcontact points 202, 302. The term “contact point” is used to refer to aportion of the outer surface that is at a locally maximal distance fromthe central axis 204 of the holder. The contact point may be a portionof the surface, as items 202 and 302 in FIGS. 2 and 3 respectively,comprising a laterally extended set of surface points at about the samedistance from the central axis 204, the distance being locally maximal,the contact point preferably being relatively narrow in the angulardirection. The angle between two points refers to the angle betweenlines from each point to the central axis 204, where the lines areperpendicular to the central axis 204. It is preferred that the distanceof each contact point from the central axis 204 of the holder be equal,as in the depicted embodiments, so that they lie on a notional cylinder,with a diameter referred to as the holder diameter (or outer diameter),and having a central axis coincident with the central axis 204 of theholder, which is also coincident with the central axis of a spool whenthe holder is engaged with the spool.

Portions of the outer surface are preferably curved inwardly, as shownin FIG. 2, which may be referred to as being scalloped. Such anarrangement limits the number of contact points and causes them to beangularly spaced apart by portions 205 of the surface closer to thecentral axis 204. Such portions 205 may be referred to as troughs (oralternatively as splines or cutouts), although it is not necessary thatthey be smoothly curved to produce a scalloped pattern as shown in thefigures.

While not preferred, the insert may have no inner surface or holethrough it. Also, the outer surface may be purely cylindrical, so thatevery point on the surface is a contact point and the insert is a disk,although this is also not preferred.

When the insert has a hole centered on the central axis, it may bereferred to as a sleeve. Such embodiments are preferred because the holecan have practical utility, such as allowing the holder, with or withouta spool attached, to be placed on a horizontal rod or spindle forstorage, or to allow the holder and spool to rotate about a spindlewhile material is removed from the spool. It is generally preferred thatthe holder be relatively thin in the radial direction so that thecylindrical hole has a diameter equal to at least 50% of the innerdiameter of the spool, and preferably at least 70%, so that the hole inthe spool is not substantially narrowed by the insertion of the holder.

A solid disk is not preferred because (1) it uses more material thannecessary, (2) a cylindrical hole is useful, and (3) a solid disk allowsfor less deformation of the spool so that the outer diameter of theholder can only be very slightly larger than the inner diameter of thespool to permit a user to engage the holder with the spool, resulting ina poorer interference fit than with a scalloped design, and making itmore difficult to engage the holder with a spool.

A purely annular shape is also not preferred because it also uses morematerial than necessary and suffers from the same problem as a disk inrespect of its fit with a spool and the difficulty of engaging it with aspool.

The holder is designed to releasably engage the inner surface of a spoolhaving an inner diameter slightly smaller than the outer diameter of theholder to produce an interference fit, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. A usercan push the insert 200 into the cylindrical opening through such aspool 400 of tape 401. The fact that the outer diameter of the holder isslightly larger than the inner diameter of the spool causes the contactpoints 202 to abut and apply force to the inner surface of the spool,producing an interference fit. The spool is generally made of a somewhatdeformable material, such as paper, so that it can accommodate an insertwith an outer diameter slightly greater than the spool's inner diameter.

The insert has a minimum of two contact points, but preferably has eightor more contact points that are distributed uniformly angularly. Witheight contact points, it is preferred that each contact point beangularly spaced apart from the other seven contact points by at least40 degrees, and, more preferably, that each is separated from theneighbouring contact points by an angle of about 45 degrees. Withsixteen contact points, it is preferred that each contact point beangularly spaced apart from the other fifteen contact points by at least20 degrees, and, more preferably, each is separated from theneighbouring contact points by an angle of about 22.5 degrees.

When there are fewer contact points, the contact points being angularlyspaced apart by portions of the outer surface closer to the central axis(troughs), the spool can generally deform more so that embodiments withfewer contact points should have a somewhat larger outer diameter to fita given spool than would an embodiment with more contact points. Forexample, the spool contact points may be at a distance of 0.53 times theinner diameter of the spool from the central axis so that the outerdiameter of the holder is about 1.06 times the inner diameter of thespool. The precise ratio depends on the material used for the spool andthe holder, and the number and distribution of contact points, but thepreferred holder outer diameter varies from very slightly greater thanthe inner diameter of the spool, to 1.06 or more times the innerdiameter of the spool.

In the limit, when every point on the outer surface is a contact point(i.e. the outer surface is cylindrical), as discussed above, the outerdiameter of the holder may be only very slightly greater than, or nearlyequal to, the inner diameter of the spool.

In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 2-6, the holder includes an attachmentmechanism consisting of a number of magnets embedded in the insert.While one magnet may be sufficient, it is preferred that a plurality ofmagnets, such as four or eight, angularly distributed within the insert,be used. As shown in FIG. 3, the sleeve 300 may have a number ofreceptacles 301 that are sized to receive magnets. In the depictedembodiments, the magnets 201 are cylindrical, and sized so that they areslightly recessed relative to the lateral surfaces of the sleeve 200. Itis preferred that the magnets 201 extend substantially though the widthof the sleeve 200, so that their axes are parallel to the central axisof the insert and the central axis of the spool when the sleeve 200 isengaged with a spool. Then a portion of each magnet is close to eachlateral side of the sleeve 200. This allows either lateral side of theholder to be attached to a flat surface made of a ferromagnetic material(material to which a magnet, or magnetized material, can magneticallyattach), such as a metallic compound including iron, nickel or cobalt.For example, the holder can be releasably attached to the side of mostcars or the side of metal tool cabinets and work benches. When theholder is engaged with a roll of tape, for example, this allows the tapeto be temporarily attached to the side of a car while a user is applyingtape from the roll to the car using both hands. After applying a portionof tape without having torn it off the roll, the user can then disengagethe roll from the car by pulling it so that the magnets are no longerproximate to the car, and then remove more tape from the roll and repeatthe process, if desired.

It is preferred that the width of the insert 200 be slightly greaterthan the width of the spool, as can be seen in FIG. 5 and in FIG. 11where the insert 200 is engaged with a supporting surface 1000. Thisallows the magnets to be very close to the metallic support surface andalso may make it easier for a user to grasp a roll on the spool toremove it from the support surface. It is preferred that the magnets notextend to or past the lateral surface of the insert so that the magnetsdo not directly contact the support surface, which may result inscratching of the surface. For the same reason, it is preferred that theinsert be formed from relatively soft material, such as a plastic like asoft vinyl, that will not scratch a painted metallic surface.

The magnets are selected so that, when the holder is engaged with aspool holding a roll of material and attached to a vertical surfacecomprising ferromagnetic material, the combined magnetic strength of themagnets is sufficient to maintain the attachment to the surface so thatthe holder, spool and material wound on the spool remain in the sameposition relative to the supporting surface until an external forceother than gravity acts on them (such as a person's hand). The strengthof the magnets is generally selected to be substantially greater (e.g.two times greater) that the strength needed to attach to the side of acar a spool with the heaviest roll of material expected to be wound onit. With such a magnetic strength, it is still easy for a user to removethe roll from the supporting surface using a relatively light force.

Rather than using receptacles into which a magnet may be inserted, asshown in the figures, the insert may alternatively be formed from amagnetized material, such as iron. Although it is not preferred, theentire insert may be made of a magnetized material, so that the insertis a magnet. This is not preferred because magnetic materials may resultin scratching of the support surface. This can be addressed by coatingthe magnetic material in a plastic coating, for example, or by embeddingthe magnetized material, e.g. a number of small magnets, inside aplastic carrier.

The holder can be used with reel-type spools, as shown in FIG. 6 wherethe sleeve 300 having magnets 601 in it is engaged with a spool (reel)600 containing wound material 601.

The holder may have one reel-like side (or flange) extending radiallyoutward from the edge of the outer surface of the insert, but there isgenerally no need for this, and it can restrict access to the materialin the roll. Thus it is preferred that all portions of the insert arelocated at a distance from the central axis of less than or equal to onehalf of the maximum distance of any contact point from any other contactpoint. This limitation also implies the preferred condition that atleast one, and preferably all, contact points have a correspondingcontact point angularly separated from the first contact point by about180 degrees. However, it is only necessary that the angular distributionof the contact points be selected so as to produce a good interferencefit when the holder is engaged with a spool.

Other embodiments may use a non-magnetic attachment mechanism. Forexample, FIG. 7 shows a holder having a sleeve 700 of similar shape tothat of the holder shown in FIG. 2, but with eight small suction cups701 attached to the depicted lateral side of the sleeve 700. The suctioncups may be attached to either one or both lateral sides of the insert700. Such an embodiment may be used to releasably attach a spool to aflat non-metallic surface, such as the side of a car with a fiberglassbody, a non-metallic wall or a glass surface.

Such non-magnetic embodiments can be useful in many situations. Forexample, when a painter on a ladder is taping the wall below crownmolding near the ceiling with masking tape, which molding is generallysignificantly longer than a person can reach, it may be veryadvantageous to be able to attach the roll of masking tape to the wallwhile the painter uses two hands to attach to the wall a segment of tapethat is still attached to the tape on the roll at one end. Then thepainter can move the ladder so that, after the ladder is moved, the rollcan be removed from the wall, a subsequent portion of tape, being partof one long strip being applied to the wall, can be removed from theroll and, after the painter re-attaches the roll to the wall using theholder, that portion can be applied to the wall using two hands.

Other attachment mechanisms are also possible, such as removableadhesive materials.

In general it is preferred that the attachment mechanism allowattachment of either lateral side to a supporting surface. For example,tape is often applied in both left and right hand directions so that itis useful to be able to attach the roll of tape on one side or theother.

A more complex embodiment of a spool holder is depicted in FIGS. 9 and10, where the holder 906 includes an outer sleeve 900 having a similarouter surface to that of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2. The insert isrotatably attached to an inner hub 901. In this embodiment, theattachment mechanism consists of the hub 901 having six cylindricalmagnets 902 disposed in six receptacles in the hub 901. The hub 901 hasa cylindrical inner surface 905 defining a cylindrical hole or openingthrough the holder 906.

The sleeve may also have a detent feature, which may employ a magnet 903in the sleeve 900 aligned so that the proximate portions of each magnet902 in the hub 901 have opposite polarity to the magnet 903 in thesleeve 900 so that they will attract when the sleeve 900 is rotated to aposition where one of the magnets 902 in the hub 901 is close to themagnet 903 in the sleeve 900, so that the holder 906 will tend to stayin this position, in the absence of non-gravitational external force.Alternatively, more than one magnet may be placed in the sleeve 900, ormetal rods or pins could be inserted, in combination with a ratchetinside the hub, to prevent a spool and roll from freely spinning aroundthe hub 901 without non-gravitational external force being applied torotate the tape for the purpose of dispensing.

FIG. 10 shows an exploded view of the holder 906 of FIG. 9. The hub 901comprises a left piece 901A and a right piece 901B of about equal widthsand each having six cylindrical receptacles 901E in the same relativelocations and sized to accept six cylindrical magnets 902. The sleeve900 has a groove 1000 in its inner surface sized to receive and engage aflange 901C on the left hub piece 901A and a flange 901D on the righthub piece 901B. The width of each flange 901C, 901D is slightly lessthan one half of the width of the groove 1000, and the outer diameter ofeach flange 901C, 901D is greater than the inner diameter of the sleeve,but less than the diameter of the inner portion of the groove, so thatthe two hub pieces 901A, 901B may be pressed into the sleeve 900 andheld in place by the protrusion of the flanges 901C, 901D into thegroove 1000. The outer diameter of the non-flange portions of the hubpieces 901A, 901B is slightly less than the inner diameter of the sleeve900 so that they may rotate relative to the sleeve 900.

The hub 901 can alternatively use suction cups, similar to theembodiment shown in FIG. 7, as the attachment mechanism.

The embodiment of FIGS. 9 and 10 can be used, for example, to attach aroll of tape to the side of a car so that the user can remove tape woundin a roll on the spool by pulling on the tape while the roll remainsattached to the car and rotates about the hub 901, while the hub remainsin a fixed rotational position relative to the car.

Many other variations are possible. For example, the insert may have asolid central portion with arms extending from it having contact pointsat the ends of the arms at the same distance from the central axis sothat they lie on a notional cylinder on the central axis. At least twoarms are required, although to achieve a good interference fit,particularly with a spool made of a more deformable material, at leastthree or four arms are preferred, and more preferably at least six,eight or sixteen arms. In such embodiments, the attachment mechanism maybe, for example, a magnet embedded the central portion or a number ofmagnets embedded in a plurality of the arms. Suction cups or other meansmay alternatively be used as the attachment mechanism.

While all the embodiments described above employ an insert with contactpoints at a fixed distance from the center of the insert (so that theouter diameter of the holder must be matched with the inner diameter ofthe spool), embodiments that allow the distance to vary are alsopossible. Such embodiments may have, for example, eight contact points(each similar to item 904 in FIG. 9), each at the outer end of anadjustable extension from the insert, so that all the extensions can bemoved outward or inward simultaneously at the same rate, for example, byrotating a dial.

In order to produce an interference fit, at least one of the insert andspool must be deformable to some degree. Generally, spools, such asthose made of paper, are deformable to a sufficient degree that aninsert made of completely rigid material, such as iron, will work asdescribed. However, in order to handle rigid spools, such as thoseformed from hard plastic, it is preferable that the insert, or at leastthe portions of the insert at and near the contact points, be made of adeformable material, such as a deformable plastic.

Spool holders may be sold with spools of material, sized to fit aparticular spool such as a standard 3 inch (76 mm) inner diameter spool,or they may be sold separately, either individually or in sets ofdifferently sized holders with varying diameters. The holders may besold in a kit including instructions on how to use the holder to attacha spool/roll to a supporting surface. Such instructions may be expressedin words, instructing the user to insert the holder into the cylindricalhole in the spool to bring the contact points into frictional engagementwith the inner cylindrical surface of the spool, and attach one of thelateral sides of the insert to a supporting surface using the attachmentmechanism. For example, in the case of a magnetic holder, the user maybe instructed to place one lateral surface of the holder proximate to asupporting surface comprising ferromagnetic material. Alternatively, theinstructions can be, or include, one or more pictures or diagramsshowing the holder inserted in a spool and attached to a supportingsurface.

The spool holders are well suited for use in advertising, for example byplacing advertising information on the lateral sides or on the innercylindrical surface for holders with a cylindrical hole. When used foradvertising, it may be desirable to make the cylindrical hole in thesleeve smaller than it would otherwise be to provide more lateralsurface area for printing advertising information on.

The magnetic embodiments also have a secondary use as a device to attachmaterial, such as paper, to a metallic surface, just like a commonrefrigerator magnet. In a shop, such as a collision repair shop, thenatural place to store a spool holder would be on the side of a metaldoor, cabinet, toolbox or bench, where it may also be desirable toattach paperwork for viewing by workers in the shop. In this context,the use of advertising on the surfaces of the holder is particularlyeffective.

While the sleeve embodiments described above generally have acylindrical hole, other embodiments may employ non-cylindrical holes.Various hole shapes may be desirable, for example to allow placement onspecial holders, or simply for a special aesthetic effect.

While it is generally preferred that all portions of the insert arelocated at a distance from the central axis of less than or equal to onehalf of the maximum distance of any contact point from any other contactpoint, in some embodiments, the insert may have one or two outer flangesthat cover the outer surface of the spool. For example, the insert maycomprise two halves, attachable to each other after being inserted intoeither side of the hole in the spool. With flanged outer sides, theinsert then forms a type of reel with an outer portion on either or bothsides covering a portion of the outer side of the spool and possiblyalso a portion of the outer side of the roll of material on the spool.

As used herein, a cylinder is, unless otherwise qualified, a rightcylinder, which is a surface having a central axis (a straight line),the surface being spanned by a family of circles of fixed radius (onehalf of the diameter) centered on the axis at all points along the axisover a finite distance along the axis. The radius and diameter of thecylinder are, respectively, equal to the radius and diameter of thecircles.

It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of thepresent invention, particularly, any “preferred” embodiments, are onlyexamples of implementations, merely set forth for a clear understandingof the principles of the invention. Many variations and modificationsmay be made to the above-described embodiment(s) of the invention aswill be evident to those skilled in the art.

Where, in this document, a list of one or more items is prefaced by theexpression “such as” or “including”, is followed by the abbreviation“etc.”, or is prefaced or followed by the expression “for example”, or“e.g.”, this is done to expressly convey and emphasize that the list isnot exhaustive, irrespective of the length of the list. The absence ofsuch an expression, or another similar expression, is in no way intendedto imply that a list is exhaustive. Unless otherwise expressly stated orclearly implied, such lists shall be read to include all comparable orequivalent variations of the listed item(s), and alternatives to theitem(s), in the list that a skilled person would understand would besuitable for the purpose that the one or more items are listed.

The words “comprises” and “comprising”, when used in this specificationand the claims, are to used to specify the presence of stated features,elements, integers, steps or components, and do not preclude, nor implythe necessity for, the presence or addition of one or more otherfeatures, elements, integers, steps, components or groups thereof.

Nothing in this specification or the claims that follow is to beconstrued as a promise.

The scope of the claims that follow is not limited by the embodimentsset forth in the description. The claims should be given the broadestpurposive construction consistent with the description as a whole.

What is claimed is:
 1. A spool holder for holding a spool, the spoolhaving a width, an inner cylindrical surface defining a cylindrical holehaving a diameter, the spool having an inner diameter being the diameterof the cylindrical hole, the spool holder comprising an insertcomprising magnetized material and having an outer surface configured toreleasably engage the inner surface of the spool to create aninterference fit between the outer surface of the insert and the innersurface of the spool when the insert is inserted into the hole, theouter surface of the insert having a plurality of spool contact pointsseparated from each other by troughs in the outer surface wherein themagnetized material of the insert is configured to releasably attach theinsert directly to a supporting surface comprising ferromagneticmaterial; and wherein the insert comprises a receptacle configured toreceive a magnet, the magnetized material comprises a magnet disposed inthe receptacle, and the width of the insert is greater than the width ofthe spool.
 2. The spool holder of claim 1 wherein the insert has acentral axis and each contact point comprises a portion of the outersurface of the insert, the plurality of the contact points being at adistance greater than one half of the inner diameter of the spool fromthe central axis, the contact points being angularly spaced apart toengage the inner surface of the spool to produce an interference fit. 3.The spool holder of claim 1 wherein the insert has left and rightlateral sides separated by a distance and being perpendicular to acentral axis of the insert, and a width being the distance between thelateral sides, wherein the outer surface is bordered by the lateralsides.
 4. The spool holder of claim 1 wherein each contact point isseparated from each other contact point by a contact point distance, andwherein all portions of the insert are located at a distance from thecentral axis of less than or equal to one half of the maximum contactpoint distance.
 5. The spool holder of claim 1 wherein the insertcomprises a sleeve having a hole centered on a central axis of theinsert.
 6. The spool holder of claim 5 wherein the hole of the insert isa cylindrical hole having a diameter equal to at least 50% of the innerdiameter of the spool.
 7. The spool holder of claim 1 wherein each spoolcontact point is at a distance from the central axis and the distancesof the contact points from a central axis of the spool are equal andless than 0.53 times the inner diameter of the spool and greater thanone half of the inner diameter of the cylindrical hole of the spool. 8.The spool holder of claim 7 wherein the insert comprises eight contactpoints, each contact point being angularly spaced apart from the otherseven contact points by at least forty degrees.
 9. The spool holder ofclaim 8 wherein the insert comprises sixteen contact points, eachcontact point being angularly spaced apart from the other fifteencontact points by at least twenty degrees.
 10. The spool holder of claim1 wherein the insert comprises a plurality of receptacles configured toreceive magnets, and the magnetized material comprises a plurality ofmagnets disposed in the receptacles.
 11. The spool holder of claim 10wherein the magnets are cylindrical and are oriented with central axesparallel to a central axis of the insert, and the magnets extend fromnear one lateral side of the insert to near the other lateral side sothat each magnet can magnetically engage with the supporting surfacecomprising ferromagnetic material when either lateral side of the insertis placed in close proximity to the supporting surface.
 12. The spoolholder of claim 1 wherein, the supporting surface is verticallyoriented, and when the holder is engaged with the spool holding a rollof material and attached to the vertical supporting surface comprisingferromagnetic material, the magnetic strength of the magnetized materialis sufficient to maintain the attachment to the surface.